Posts for tag: Habits

The effects of bad oral habits are something that our dental team sees all too often, especially during the hectic Holiday Season! These bad oral habits may have stemmed from your childhood because your parents did not know about proper oral care or encourage you to practice them. Or, these bad habits may have devloped gradually, like slacking on the frequency of brushing, flossing and teeth cleanings.

These bad oral habits can lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and other consequences such as losing teeth and experiencing bad pain. They may be deeply ingrained and easy to continue, but you can break them with a little effort. Focus on developing good habits to replace your current ones, like eating a diet that is healthy for your teeth.

Breaking your bad oral habits may not be as difficult as you expect when you simply focus instead on developing good habits. These new good habits can naturally replace your bad habits.

DEVELOPING GOOD HABITS

Brush your teeth 20 minutes after each meal or at least two minutes twice daily

Have a professional exam and cleaning every six months

Floss your teeth every day

Maintain a healthy diet

Although these good habits may not seem natural, steps can be taken to make sure that you follow these behaviors. For example, a daily checklist can be beneficial to keep track of scheduled sessions of brushing and flossing. A timer can be utilized to ensure that the recommended two minutes are completed each session. And finally, a food app can help keep track of the foods to avoid like starches and sugars, which increase the risk of decay. These apps can also monitor the daily water intake. In fact, rinsing with plain water after each meal or snack has been shown to decrease the oral acids that are so deterimental to your teeth!